We are excited to announce that Sana Commerce’s global expansion steadfastly continues. Just two months ago, we shared that Sana would be operating locally in the Australia/New Zealand region, out of our brand-new office in Perth. Today, we officially opened the doors of our first Latin American office in the presence of the Dutch Ambassador, his excellency Sr. J.J. Roodenburg. The new office is located in the Ruta-N building in Medellín, Colombia.
Our Medellín office joins the ranks of our other branches in the Netherlands, the U.S., the U.K., Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Germany, Austria and Australia. For ten years, Sana has been committed to providing high-quality support for our clients’ ERP-driven e-commerce strategies. To do so even more successfully, Sana has begun establishing a local presence in major markets worldwide. The Medellín office represents another leap toward that goal, and an opportunity to impact the Latin American market in a substantial way. A Strategic Decision
Earlier this year, Sana had the honor of welcoming Juan José Quintana, the Ambassador of Colombia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to our Rotterdam headquarters to celebrate the soft launch of the Medellín office. “Colombia is a fast-growing market… [and] a great place to do business right now,” said Mr. Quintana of Sana’s decision to start its Latin American expansion in Colombia.
“The city of Medellín was chosen as the location for our newest office for its emphasis on IT and engineering education, startup environments and entrepreneurship, as well as for its supportive government and favorable business environment,” says Cas Nieskens (Manager). On a practical level, the location and time-zone allows Sana Commerce to efficiently deliver technical solutions to a rapidly growing number of customers across the Americas. We intend to thrive on the enthusiasm and passion of the Colombian people that will join the team as employees, partners and customers.
“We would like to extend our gratitude to the Colombian government, and in particular to the ACI, Pro Colombia, Dutch Embassy and the Holland House for their support in our research and start-up phase,” says Tim Beyer (COO) on behalf of all of us at Sana.
Looking Ahead
As Sana Commerce grows and develops on an international level, our dedication to our customers will remain at the forefront of our business. We will continue to expand in order to reach, support and maximize the business potential of our customers everywhere — and the launch of our office in Colombia is no exception. We look forward to a bright future in Colombia, and are setting our sights on the next step in our growth. .
SAHIC South America 2018 will take place from September 24 to 25 at the Intercontinental Hotel. This internationally renowned meeting seeks to promote the most important hotel, tourism and real estate business in the region. This will be the perfect stage for executives and investors from more than 20 countries to explore new businesses, build relationships and increase the development of the sector.
“A paradise found” is the motto of the leading event in hotel and tourism infrastructure which will be hosted by Medellín.
“Latin America is in a very good moment and while it consolidates as a tourist destination, it becomes a site of interest for international investors. For those who want to do business here, it is important to understand with whom and how, to approach to the existing opportunities in this growing market,” says Arturo García Rosa, president and founder of SAHIC.
More than 400 executives and presidents of the most renowned hotel chains of the world are expected to attend SAAHIC 2018.
“Tourism is an engine that favors Medellín and Antioquia’s economic growth. It is directly related to the cluster strategy of the city which seeks to make Medellín a successful destination focused on business tourism, meetings, conventions and events, complemented by the beauty of nature and the towns of Antioquia” said Catalina Restrepo, Executive Director of ACI Medellín.
In the last decade, the hotel infrastructure in Medellín has an increased 76% by the hand of local and foreign investment. Also, Antioquia has achieved a 500% growth in corporate events and a 63% in average annual hotel occupancy, seven points above the national average. Likewise, in 2017 the department received more than 700 thousand travelers, including foreigners and Colombians.
Business opportunities, direct contact with investors, funding sources, first-hand information and access to unique and differentiated projects will be the scenarios that will boost this Latin American tourism event.
Starting on May 30, the Sos Paisa Network renews its website. This new website includes profiles of Paisas who stand out abroad, information about meetings with Paisas all around the world, news about Medellín and the region. This will be a virtual community which will allow Paisas to interact and find others who are working outside the country. In addition, the website contains information on how to cooperate with the development proposals of Medellín. .
With a new image and updated information about the network, we invite you to join Sos paisa: www.sospaisa.com
This website has an attractive and modern design, more dynamic and user-friendly, but above all, it intends to connect, link and inform Paisas who are far from Medellín about everything that happens in their city and how they can cooperate and contribute to the transformation and development of the city and region.
The Sos Paisa Network is coordinated by ACI Medellín
“We want this new website to strengthen the Sos Paisa Network, to make people from Antioquia living abroad feel closer to their city, their region, and link them up with our proposals for development and transformation,” explained Catalina Restrepo Carvajal, executive director of ACI Medellín.
Knowledge management has become one of the pillars of the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellin and the Metropolitan Area in the attraction of cooperation and foreign investment into the city.
Knowledge transfer initiatives have been designed and implemented to position Medellín as a benchmark for best practices. They help us to capitalize the opportunities offered by the relationship with international partners.
Such is the case of the Medellín Lab program. It operates as a knowledge exchange platform and as a tool which generates cooperation alliances supported by the World Bank.
During its first edition in 2017, this project brought together several delegations from all around the world interested in learning about best practices in Medellín and other cities in terms of security, coexistence and peace building. This year, the Medellín Lab2018 will address issues of urban planning, mobility and project funding.
If you want to learn more about the experience of Medellín in knowledge exchange and learning initiatives, we invite you to see this interview in Spanish with Camilo Villa, World Bank’s knowledge management consultant.
The capital of Antioquia, headed by mayor Federico Gutiérrez, is now one of the cities that make up the C40 Steering Committee. C40 connects about 100 cities, totaling a population of about 700 million people in the world. The network, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CFF) and Realdania, takes actions related to climate and leads the way for a healthier and more sustainable future.
On Wednesday, May 23, Medellín has been announced among the five new cities that will have a seat on the C40 Network Steering Committee.
The other four are: Accra (Ghana), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Nanjing (China) and Quito (Ecuador). They will be joining Boston, Copenhagen, Dubai, Durban, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Paris, Seoul and Tokyo in this executive board.
“Accra, Dhaka, Medellin, Nanjing and Quito have shown incredible leadership in the implementation of climate actions. They have inspired mayors and neighboring cities around the world. I hope I can work with my fellow mayors, as we think locally and act globally in the implementation of the Paris Agreement,” said Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris and President of C40.
For his part, mayor Federico Gutiérrez Zuluaga said: “It is an honor and a great challenge for Medellín to be one of the representatives of Latin America in the Steering Committee of the C40.We have demonstrated real leadership with actions against climate change, and through the position we assume, we will open a wide range of possibilities for the advancement of our region. We believe we are able to connect with territories that face similar obstacles to create sustainable changes in cities.”
Medellín joined C40 in 2016 and its participation has been managed from the Ministry of Environment and the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area -ACI Medellín. Both entities oversaw the application of the city for this new challenge.
On Tuesday, May 22, the first Centre for Excellence in Artificial Intelligence of Colombia will be officially opened thanks to the agreement signed between Ruta N and the Institute for Automation of Processes and Artificial Intelligence (IRPA AI), of the United States.
It seeks to involve Medellín into a new global knowledge economy and to promote the development of new human talent capabilities.
In the upcoming years, the centre will develop new skills in local talent to achieve global quality standards and generate innovative and advanced services of process automation, artificial intelligence, Machine Learning, RPA, cognitive technologies and deep learning.
“This initiative will positively impact the future of the city since, the experience and the network of associated companies of IRPA AI and the Institute of Outsourcing will allow Medellín to position itself as an artificial intelligence hub,” said Alejandro Franco, Executive Director of Ruta N.
The Centre for Excellence will be the anchor for the creation of a new Business Development Center (CDN), which seeks to promote artificial intelligence startups, integrate specialized communities of young people and R & D groups that have been carrying out important work in the universities.
“This is great news for Medellín and the country. This Center will bring important advantages in the development of research, technology and job creation; and it will allow us to boost the attraction of foreign investment in the city, ” said Catalina Restrepo Carvajal, Executive Director of ACI Medellín..
The Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area – ACI Medellín, supported this agreement by providing industrial context legal and operational advice, and facilitating the local relationship of the North American companies in Medellín.
On May 2nd, the mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez Zuluaga, met with the Paisa community in New York. The event was held at the Consulate of Colombia and was attended by the consul María Isabel Nieto Jaramillo.
The Sos Paisa Network of the Medellín Mayor’s Office gathered more than 80 Paisas in New York.
Federico Gutiérrez started the meeting by talking to the attendees about the transformation of Medellín. How the city moved on from a past that marked it and how today it reflects another reality, a story that we, Paisas, must tell others which shows us a new path.
The Mayor highlighted spaces such as the House of Memory Museum and the Memorial for Victims that will be built on the ground of the Monaco building. Also, he shared information on Medellín’s progress in education, sustainable mobility, integral security, culture, citizen trust and economic development. “The true heroes and the stories that must be highlighted are those of the victims,” explained the Mayor.
In his speech, he talked about the power of education as a transforming axis of Medellín: “Education is the hardest blow we can deal to criminal structures, this is how we get our children back. To do this, we have programs like: We count on you at school, Good Start, the Saberes strategy, the 21 alliances for you in the educational quality, among others,” remarked Gutierrez.
Mayor Gutierrez also talked about the 30 green corridors, the 100 parks for you plan, and the transformation of the city center.
These Paisas had the opportunity to talk with the mayor and learn first-hand about the changes the city has undergone. The event was attended by designers, businessmen, architects, community leaders, journalists, all talented and successful Paisas whom have lived for many years in the United States.
“I think the mission of the SOS Paisa program is beautiful. Coming here and contacting us, the Paisas, in New York where there is such a strong community… and where many people, for migratory reasons, have not been able to return to their homeland. The idea of telling the community of Paisas living outside Colombia what is happening in Medellín, seems to me very important,” said Diana Franco, entrepreneur and co-founder of www.corewoman.org
Monterrey, Mexico City and Puebla are the three cities Colombia’s main Investment Promotion Agencies will visit to promote the country as investment destination. ACI Medellín, Invest Pacific, Invest in Bogota, ProBarranquilla, Invest in Armenia and Invest in Cartagena participated in this tour coordinated by Procolombia.
During the meetings with businessmen and potential investors in Mexico City and Monterrey, a seminar will be held in each city. The business opportunities and the fastest growing sectors of Bogota, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Armenia and Cartagena will be shown on these seminars.
The seminars will be held in Monterrey, on May 8, in the Live Aqua Urban Resort from 8:30 am to 11:00 am; and in Mexico City, on May 9 in the Hyatt Regency Hotel, from 8:30 am to 11:00 a.m. Additionally, a business conference will be held in Mexico City until 2:00 p.m. after the seminar.
On the other hand, the commission will visit Puebla to hold one-on-one meetings with businessmen interested in exploring investment opportunities in Colombia.
“This visit is a valuable opportunity for Medellín to promote sectors in which it has a vast experience, such as IT services, software development, advanced manufacturing, agribusiness, infrastructure, real estate and tourism,” says Catalina Restrepo, executive director of the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area, ACI Medellín.
Medellín is globally renowned for its vocation and its innovative initiatives with high social impact. For its part, Antioquia is considered one of the departments with greater diversity and agro-industrial growth of the country. Also, in terms of infrastructure, the region has a high hotel, tourism, air and land connectivity development which directly benefits business development.
“As an agency which promotes investment and international cooperation, and is responsible for the internationalization of Medellín, this tour allows us to approach to the needs of Mexican investors and to think of a way our city can become the best option for their business,” said Restrepo.
Founded by Alejandro Posada, Colombian orchestra conductor and his wife María Helena Tamayo, the Ibero-American Philharmonic Academy – Iberacademy – is committed to support the talent of young people from Medellín and Colombia and to a comprehensive development of musicians, especially those from vulnerable social situations who are extremely talented.
The HILTI Foundation, committed to efficient and sustainable training in Latin America, allowed the creation of the academy. Iberacademy has granted scholarships in musical training programs to young people and teachers from various regions of Colombia and the continent.
Iberacademy seeks to strengthen musical education in the continent through the execution of pedagogical models which allow the transmission of knowledge through Latin America.
Likewise, this Philharmonic Academy together with the EAFIT University and the New World Symphony Orchestra of Miami, the Mozarteum Foundation of Salzburg, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, among other actors, offers scholarships in various parts of the world for their training program in orchestral and chamber internships. This has allowed young musicians and teachers to learn and at the same time show the world their talent.
A milestone in Colombian culture
Last March, a group of 50 young people between 14 and 25 years old, from different parts of the country and part of the Network of Music Schools of the Ministry of Culture of Medellín, toured on Europe performing at the festivals of Lucerne and Salzburg as the first Colombian symphonic group invited to these meetings.
Besides their presentation at the festivals, other concerts were held in Vienna, Austria; Winterthur, Switzerland and Vaduz, capital of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
The networks of cities are a means of strengthening the international insertion of local governments, increasing opportunities for decentralized international cooperation and exchanging knowledge.
These networks act as bridges on the international discussion and the dissemination of the challenges faced by cities; they also allow them to work with strategic partners from different places around the world who share the same interests and challenges.
The networks became stronger during the 1980s with the creation of Metropolis, a global association that brings together cities with more than one million inhabitants. Later, in the nineties, other initiatives such as the Eurocities Network , in Europe, and Mercociudades, in South America were born.
In fact, the internationalization processes have been strengthened by networks of cities, as they open opportunities for participation in international events and awards designed to maximize the dissemination of the best practices of each territory in terms of social and economic development. In the case of Medellín, these networks have been the best scenario to exchange best practices and to strengthen international relations which have enabled cooperation and human development processes.
A team made up by ACI Medellín, Procolombia, Invest in Armenia, ProBarranquilla, Invest in Bogota and Invest in Pacific have started the Alianza Pacífico tour in Lima and Santiago, which has left important relations for future projects between these countries and Colombia.
ACI Medellín presented them with the city’s greater projection investment opportunities such as hotel infrastructure, manufacturing, agro-industry and the Innovation District. In this sense, the challenge is to foster the best conditions for the development and expansion of these businesses, considering the expectations of the investors.
ACI Medellín Executive Director, Catalina Restrepo Carvajal presented the advantages and opportunities of Medellín and the metropolitan region for the arrival of Foreign Direct Investment.
“We had the opportunity to talk before more than 80 Peruvian and Chilean investors, and I would say they were pleased with the possibilities offered by Medellín and Antioquia .I would like to highlight the fact that we show a wide range of investment possibilities different from those that have traditionally been pointed out by the executives of these countries in Colombia .This is very positive because we have opened the way to the exploration of opportunities which were under their radar,” said Catalina Restrepo Carvajal, Executive Director of ACI Medellín.
The Alianza Pacífico tour will culminate this May in Mexico, where investors from Monterrey, Mexico City and Querétaro will be presented the opportunities offered by Medellín and Antioquia.
ACI Medellín’s Executive Director participated in the Round Table called “Social challenges on the implementation of the 2030 agenda,” in the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC. There, she presented the progress made by the Medellín Mayor’s Office in the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
Chilean Sofofa and Procolombia held the meeting to promote Colombia as a destination for foreign direct investment which was attended by almost 40 Chilean companies.
In compliance with the Development Plan 2016-2019 Medellín Cuenta Con Vos and its 7th dimension: “To collectively protect the environment,” the Medellín Mayor’s Office and the Secretariat of Environment have developed a new process that seeks to protect the hydrographic basins which supply the aqueducts of the city..
It’s the Payment for Environmental Services, which seeks to protect 29 watersheds of Medellín through the payment of a monthly economic incentive for the conservation, restoration and protection of the city’s water resource to owners of 449 properties located in the rural area of the city.
In May of this year, the Mayor’s Office will select the participants according to their score in a public call. The chosen ones will receive an economic benefit according to the area of natural forest within their land (1.14 current legal minimum monthly wages per hectare) or the area of the property where the forest will be recovered (2.78 current legal minimum monthly wages).
The resources to be granted amount to 4 billion pesos. To access the grant, a person must: be owner or holder of one or more properties, be up to date in the property tax payment and declare that the property is not in discussion of ownership.
According to Sergio Andrés Orozco Escobar, Secretary of Environment of Medellín, the Payment for Environmental Services: “it’s a way to teach our people to value our environmental heritage by taking care of the water sources and environmental resources which are so important for the city and the region. In this case, the Mayor’s Office does not buy lands or expropriate them, instead invites people to stay on theirs, to take care of them, value them and take ownership of its space. This guarantees the continuity of this natural and diverse asset of Medellin.”
For more information and to continue with the application process, please write to[email protected] or dial (054) 589 8929.
Map of Medellin marking the areas to be intervened by the Environmental Services Program.
On April 15, Sos Paisa will gather the Paisa* community in Lima, Peru, and on Friday, April 20, the meeting will be with those living in Santiago, Chile. The appointment in Lima is at 4:00 pm in the restaurant Mi Colombia Café Resto Bar, Miraflores neighborhood and in Santiago de Chile will be at 7:00 pm in the restaurant La Casa en el Aire, Bellavista neighborhood..
These meetings aim to create a community with those from Antioquia who live abroad and link them to Medellín, to tell them about the city’s transformation and invite them to contribute to it.
The Sos Paisa Network is a program of Medellín Mayor’s Office coordinated by the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area, to connect Paisas abroad with the different initiatives that the government currently drives.
Each meeting is an open space to share experiences with these Paisas, to know their projects abroad and to connect them with Medellín.
“We are pleased to invite all Paisas in Lima and Santiago to be part of SOS Paisa. It fills us with joy to attend these meetings and see so many Paisas making their lives abroad. This is a fantastic opportunity to get closer to them, tell them about Medellín, connect them with their city and show them everything they have at disposition to contribute to the different programs of the city,” said Catalina Restrepo Carvajal, Executive Director of ACI Medellín.
The tour will be accompanied by Procolombia, ACI Medellín, Invest in Pacific, Invest in Bogota, Probarranquilla and Proarmenia.
Medellín’s advantages in terms of innovation, agroindustry and infrastructure and those from Antioquia, as one of the departments with the greatest diversity and agro-industrial growth, will be presented. In addition, the region has a high tourism and hotel development and both, air and land connectivity which directly benefits business growth in Colombia.
“It is essential for ACI Medellín to participate in these meetings. We will have there the opportunity to understand the needs of Peruvian, Chilean and other investors from all around the world who are interested in investing in Colombia. At the same time, it is an ideal place to raise awareness on the enormous advantages the city offers to foreign direct investment. In this sense, the support of Procolombia which benefits all regions of the country is very important,” said Catalina Restrepo Carvajal, Executive Director of ACI Medellín.
ACI Medellín will show the advantages of the Aburrá Valley and Antioquia in terms of innovation, agroindustry and infrastructure.
The Mexican embassy to Colombia will offer a serenade to the country in the framework of the Mexico – Colombia Year. The Symphony Orchestra and Mariachi of the Ministry of Defense of Mexico will lead the show at Metropolitan Theater of Medellín on Thursday April 5 – 20:00 hr.
Since 2011, both countries together with Chile and Peru, formed the regional integration block Alianza Pacífico (Alliance of the Pacific).
The event will be attended by representatives from both countries. Also, a recognition will be presented to the best Colombian mariachi groups, seeking to increasingly strengthen the cultural relations between both nations.
For almost two centuries, Colombia and Mexico have maintained a strong diplomatic relationship which translates into cooperation on technical, scientific, educational, cultural, economic and security issues.
It is this close relationship which has allowed 10 Mexican companies to settled in Medellín between 2008 and 2017. They were supported by ACI Medellín, thus, boosting local economy and contributing to the social development of Medellín’s inhabitants.
Konecta is a Spanish multinational provider of comprehensive BPO and Contact Center services for several sectors wich consolidates is offices in Medellín. It has 100 engineers in Ruta N facilities co-working in an environment that favors the generation of new technological services.
Konecta exports digital technology services to Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Morocco, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Brazil, generating more than 15,300 jobs.
Konecta’s challenge for 2018 is to constantly update its technological capacity to adapt to the new reality of markets and provide them with effective mechanisms to connect customers with a solution that fit their needs.
“The necessity to centralize software development in on country was defined in the company’s strategy. Different alternatives were analyzed and, finally, Medellín – Colombia was chosen for its qualified professional human talent; the local government’s commitment to innovation and to the development of technological projects,” said. José Roberto Sierra, president of Konecta Colombia.
In October 2017, Konecta settled its multidisciplinary innovation center supported by Procolombia, the Ruta N Corporation and the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area, ACI Medellín. It is dedicated to the construction of software solutions and processes of digital transformation from Medellín to the world.
The United Nations has launched Global Marketplace, a digital platform to make public the bids of its organizations for vendors from all around the world..
More than 40 UN organizations publish their bid announcements on this platform and vendors can register for free.
This platform is called United Nations Global Marketplace, UNGM. It brings together companies and individual consultants so they can participate in calls and present the services and products they offer to different countries, territories and in various languages.
In the same way, interested parties can access the Knowledge Center, a useful tool provided by the UN to post information about business seminars, procurement rules and regulations, as well as valuable information about each organization.
This is an excellent opportunity for companies in the city to become vendors for the United Nations and to access the necessary information to do business with this international organization.
Those interested in learning more about Global Marketplace can access: www.ungm.org
With three comprehensive intervention projects, in urban renewal, mobility and attention to early childhood, Medellín has become an international model of overcoming low levels of human development and caring for the most vulnerable populations. From ACI Medellín, these are the stories, told the world, about the transformation of the city in order to attract new resources, position public policy in the country and abroad, and exchange experiences.
Despite being separated by a mere 23 minutes, and being very close to the river that runs through the city from south to north, for many of the inhabitants of the northeastern area, going to work or making a purchase in downtown Medellín meant “going down” to the city. That was the description of the trip and the disconnection they felt with their own city, and as it was called by scholars, a historical exclusion. This exclusion could finally be solved with the Metrocable and the PUI (Comprehensive Urban Project in Spanish).
“those living in the sector were part of the forgotten geography. We had no spaces to walk in. There were only small houses on top of more small houses along the creek, so people said this was like ‘El Pesebre’ (a manger).” Luz Marina Gómez, community leader of “La Francia” neighborhood
Comprehensive Urban Projects have changed the lives of more than 170.000 inhabintants in Medellín.
She does not remember a different neighborhood, because she has lived here all her life. She inherited land from her father, as well as the spirit of always looking for the welfare of people. She did not leave when violence stole tranquility. She hesitated when the government promised change, and today, she assures with certainty, she will only leave La Francia when she dies. The PUI has changed her life and that of more than 170,000 inhabitants, with 28 projects in 13 neighborhoods.
However, she also says with insistence that no one believed in what the State had promised to do. She spoke with social managers and engineers at the “Empresa de Desarrollo Urbano” (Urban Development Corporation, EDU, in Spanish) and asked them what was going to happen. She was informed and then she retold the information during meetings in improvised places such as sports facilities and a billiard club, a few blocks away from her house.
“It was permanent and hard work to gain trust, but finally works began, and I was overwhelmed with all I had to do.” She was in charge of welcoming the workers, recording the time shifts and even had to verify the stock of construction tools available. Together with her neighbors, she worked for the territory they had imagined and planned during the workshops.
With this PUI, they moved from fear to hope, and from hope to life, thanks to the execution of works such as the “Paseo Urbano” (urban boulevard) at Calle 106, which increased the shops from 35 to about 250; the “Centro de Desarrollo Empresarial Zonal, Cedezo, in Santo Domingo Savio (Zonal Business Development Center) to support business ideas; the “Unidad Deportiva y Recreativa Granizal” (Sports and Recreational Facilities) to benefit 500,000 inhabitants; and the construction of the “Parque Biblioteca España,” the “Parque Lineal Quebrada La Herrera,” 126 homes and the “Mirador Andalucía – La Francia Bridge,” linking two sectors separated over the years, among other works totaling 25,000 square meters of urban facilities and 125,000 square meters of new public space.
“Medellín has achieved becoming an innovative city, not because of technology production, but because of its capacity for social and holistic intervention. We have communities who love their areas of residence, who feel part of the State and see the retribution of the contributions made via taxes. Therefore, the city went from being one of the most violent in the world, exclusionary and divided, to becoming the most innovative.” Margarita María Rivera, director of Social Management at EDU.
Social planning in Medellín, the Latin American school
Having national and international benchmarks such as the favelas -shacks, slums shantytowns- in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; slums in Barcelona, Spain, and Bogotá’s urban transformation in the nineties, Medellín configured its Social Urbanization with a series of planning and intervention actions to promote comprehensive human development with citizen participation.
With the PUI for the North-Eastern area of the city, the first in the capital of Antioquia and completed in 2004, a replicable model that combines three components was created. It included physical reformation with the construction of cultural, sporting and educational facilities, housing, mobility and environmental improvement; social reformation, with the strengthening of citizen participation and mobilization; and institutional reform, which brings together government action across a range of programs and the promotion of appropriation of spaces and the quality of life of its people.
This model not only provided strength for Medellín to obtain recognition by the “Nobel of cities award” the Lee Kuan Yew World City 2016, delivered by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Center for Liveable Cities, but was also the gateway for the world coming through Medellín, together with the management of the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area –ACI Medellín. And it will open the path for other PUI to be developed in the Comuna 13 San Javier, the basin of the La Iguaná and the Northwest areas in El Picacho and at Central Eastern, by the green corridor of the Ayacucho Tram.
The modern tram, the face of the future
At the road corridor connecting the east of the region with downtown, through which one of the lines of the first electric tram in the 1940s ran, and the path through which farmers with colorful Silletas arrived in the marketplace, now runs the only modern tram in the country and the first in operation in Latin America in the twenty-first century.
As in the past, this passageway, of meeting and rest, residents, pedestrians and domestic and foreign travelers go up and down the 4.3 km route. They marvel at the 30 or more works of popular urban art painted on murals and facades of houses, and enjoy the more than 113,000 square meters of new public spaces and green areas.
One of the families who lived and made part of this change is the owner of Pizzas & Lasagna, a street vendor who began 22 years ago in Ayacucho and who then moved on to a commercial shop, led by the perseverance and discipline of food engineer William Lince and business manager Gloria Ledesma.
Para Pizzas & Lasagna, the construction of Ayacucho’s Tram was a grow opportunity.
“On the weekends we are completely dedicated to the business. Selling on the streets was the way to begin but not a sustainable idea over time. We generated sales, but not capital,” explains William. So, they opened their first restaurant in Quinta Linda within the Buenos Aires neighborhood, where they soon won the recognition and appreciation of neighbors. With the desire to grow, they opened a second point of sale on Ayacucho Avenue and no more than thirty days went by when the tram works began.
“We did not expect the project to start off so fast; it was a big surprise. However, we believed and we stayed. We implemented sales strategies to sustain the business and were sure there would come a time of recovery and profits,” says Gloria.
Parallel to their flavor recognition of pizzas and lasagnas
and service excellence, another family dream was on the verge, in the production of artisanal ice cream. Daniela, their daughter, inherited the entrepreneurial spirit and while attending high school, took a course on ice cream preparation that marked her for life. While her father worked on the formulas, ingredients and chemical compositions to achieve the best flavor, she was attending school to become a food engineer and was getting ready for her next step, traveling for study at Carpigiani University in Italy. After that, only good news arose: participation and victory in the Gellato World Tour in Chicago in 2016 and third prize in the world in 2017 for the flavor “Amor-Acuyá,” a combination of chocolate,
passion fruit and the love the Lince Ledesma family has put in everything they do.
Today, from the headquarters of Pizzas & Lasagna, they appreciate not having left Ayacucho and are surprised to see the improvement in mobility, the sense of belonging of the people and of course, the increase in customers who visit their restaurant daily, thanks to its main course menu or for the dessert that has already achieved global recognition by chefs and ice cream makers alike.
Buen Comienzo to grow-up
Another one of the neighborhoods of the capital of Antioquia which was developed primarily with displaced population during the mid-sixties and seventies was Carpinelo, in the Comuna 1 Popular, near the edge of the mountains in the northeast.
Inhabitants began building houses made of wood and zinc roofs. Violent dynamics converged over the years, which brought government attention.
In 2013, with policy for attention to early childhood in the city and the country, the fourteenth Jardín Infantil Buen Comienzo (Good Start Kindergarten) opened. It was a place for children to plant their first dreams, opportunities,
and memories.
Under the design and implementation of the EDU, 1,556 square meters of facilities were built, 598 m2 of public space, and 2,050 m2 of free and recreational area. It included equipment and elements for ten child classrooms, nurseries, rooms for lactating moms, two rooms for crawlers, a dining area, a kitchen, an administrative area and other required spaces.
Also, with the operation of Las Golondrinas Foundation and the support of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare, ICBF, service is supported by 23 community mothers, eight licensed preschool education personnel and a social worker, a psychologist, a nutritionist, a mediator artist, a special educator and a professional nurse.
But in addition to infrastructure and support from professional and technical personnel, there’s an interdisciplinary education wager that seeks for the children to explore and learn about issues such as water, animals, the environment and regional cultures.
“This garden is a place of recognition and respect, built by the community, where children are protected, cared for and are trained in values,” explains Yeini Margarita Ensuncho Celis, pedagogical coordinator.
Another achievement of this educational center, according to social worker Camilo Henao Mejía, was to position the Mesa de la Primera Infancia (Early Childhood Bureau) of the Comuna 1, where about thirty people participate, among Buen Comienzo operators, community leaders, the library network, different secretariats from the Medellín Mayor’s Office, such as Government and Health, and parents. This Early Childhood Bureau works for social mobilization, exchange of knowledge and experiences to qualify work articulately and recognize children as subjects of rights, protagonists of the present and managers for a better future.
The economic dynamics of a city like Medellín stimulate the opening of new markets and the strengthening of relations with international actors. To do so, not only technological or legal tools are needed, also human talent capable of communicating in different languages, especially in English since it is the universal language of business and communications.
This need of bilingual professionals led to the enactment of Law 1651 in 2013. It modifies articles of Law 115 of 1994 seeking to develop communication skills of Colombian students in a language foreign
However, despite the different programs developed throughout the country, the Ministry of National Education estimates that by 2018, only 8% of high school students in the country would reach a B1 level in English as a foreign language.
This figure is added to the recent study of the English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), which evaluated the skills of more than 1 million people in 80 countries, among which Colombia ranked 51 with 49.97 points. The country also was ranked 11 among the 15 Latin American nations which struggle the most with bilingualism.
Although these figures can be daunting, they are an invitation to redesign the strategies for the adequate acquisition of English as a foreign language, as in the case of Medellín Bilingüe. It is a strategy of the Mayor’s Office to improve the learning of languages in the city in which several secretariats get involve through programs such as Semilla Bilingüe, Medellín City Camps, Medellín School Camps, Teacher Training, Con vos; Inglés al barrio (English to the neighborhood), The best T, Boarding Pass to Canada and Cine Club Film Control.
According to Lorena Cañaveral, coordinator and leader of Medellín Bilingüe, “Sometimes the language is the most important item in a resume and it is time to give the opportunity not only to people who have studied abroad or with a complete immersion in English from a private school, but to all citizens who need this tool to communicate in the academic and work environment. Likewise, labor relations are not the only field in which a language can be useful. Another advantage of being bilingual is that social relationships increase as new languages are learned. ”
In the same way, the Cañaveral assures that to learn to fall in love with another language, we must leave behind a traditional model and understand that through film, music, comics, jokes and even memes, we can practice a foreign language. This is a process in which the teaching work is fundamental to break stereotypes in the teaching-learning process.
Therefore, professional skills of local human talent can be strengthened through these actions, positively impacting the increase in employment rates with foreign companies that impact the quality of life of families in the value chain.
Technological innovation, a road to development
In addition to strengthening skills in a foreign language, organizations seek to access to creative human talent that can perform innovative technological developments and which respond appropriately to the needs of each of them.
Although Medellín has an excellent university education level, the arrival of companies dedicated to the provision of services and IT development has increased the need for people with specific training in those areas .According to Adriana Pérez, Organizational Innovation Professional at Ruta N, “the city is currently undertaking a digital transformation process of the economy, therefore all the institutions of the CT + i ecosystem are facing the global challenge of the shortage of IT talent. Ruta N is working on an “IT Talent Fund” along with Sura Asset Management to close gaps while strengthening the attraction of the Landing process. ”
Under the same perspective, John Jairo González, systems engineer graduated from the University of San Buenaventura says, “the city is experiencing an absence of systems engineers because students rather to migrate to other professions. They believe the time they invest in study is not reflected in the salary they receive. Although talent and academy do exist, many companies hire technicians and technologists due to salary and operational reason. They are able to carry out actions corresponding to certain needs, but, for a greater innovative development, university professionals are required for their academic training and work experience.”
Responding to this reality, the faculties of Systems Engineering the city has (around 15), continue to adapt their curricula to improve training and research system, overcoming the gap of the city in specific issues and creatively cover the needs of companies with international projection.
The Venezuelan ecological hairdressing establishment settles in the capital of Antioquia thanks to the support of Procolombia Venezuela and the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area – ACI Medellín.
“We are an ecological hair salon with a proposal of transition from the traditional Latina women beauty concept towards an environmentally friendly concept. Merging cutting-edge technology withhair relaxation techniques, “said Yarlyni Puche, Green Hair owner.
Green Hair is an innovative business model that combines beauty, environmental care and technology to offer a high-quality environmentally friendly service. They expect to continue growing in the city, generating employment, implementing its own line of products in the medium term and, also, to open a training center in ecological beauty for professionals.
ACI Medellín facilitates the installation of foreign investment projects in the city to contribute to the economic and social development of Medellín and the region.
Testimonio de Yarlyni Puche propietaria de la peluquería Green Hair Eco Boutique Salón.
New winds of leadership arrive to ACI Medellín on behalf of the Business Administrator, Catalina Restrepo Carvajal.
Restrepo has an extensive experience in project management and advisory. She has served as Replicability Director of the JuanFe Foundation; Advisor to Medellín Mayor’s Office; Advisor to the Regional Directorate of SENA; Consultant of the IFC World Bank Group; Advisor to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism and Advisor to the Government of Antioquia, among other positions.
Catalina is a Business Administrator of the St. Thomas University, Specialist in Corporate Social Responsibility and Communication Processes of the Business School of Madrid and Master in Public Relations of the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
The Board of Directors of ACI Medellín is certain that Catalina will continue to position the city in terms of international cooperation and foreign investment, through which, the agency seeks to stimulate job creation, innovation of the productive system and to strengthen the city projects while keeping citizens as the most important aspect of this development.
The new Executive Director will start her journey with the Agency next Monday, March 5.
As part of the installation ICLEI’s regional office, three important projects were launched: Urban-LEDS II (Low Emissions Urban Development Strategy), EcoLogistics (urban mobility and sustainability project) and Local Protected Areas (biodiversity and management areas).
ICLEI is an international network founded in 1990 and devoted to the construction of a sustainable future. More than 1,500 cities and around 100 countries participate in it. Currently, it has 19 regional offices, including its headquarters in Bonn (Germany) and, in our context, the Secretariat for South America based in Sao Paulo (Brazil)
David Escobar Arango, current director of Comfama, had the chance to give a close look to the performance of the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area, ACI Medellín since its very beginning. He remembers that during 2004, when he served as Private Secretary for former Mayor, Sergio Fajardo, and was coordinator of the internationalization project line, as part of Medellín’s Development Plan, the Agency was in its initial stages. He recalls that a few people from the Agency were working from cubicles inside the building of Empresas Públicas de Medellín headquarters. During that time, much of what is now the Agency was in the making. At that time, he says, the strategy was getting the word out about Medellín. The objective was to be centered on establishing international relations. As a result, the attraction of investment, cooperation resources, strengthening trade links and engaging in cultural dialogue was intended to be much easier.
“ACI had no arrogant attitude, but neither was it mendicant […] They used to say, ‘We are good but we are lacking a lot and we have a lot of problems, but we want to share and learn.’” He stresses that this feature of the Agency’s organizational culture allowed for the seeking of both cooperation resources and the attraction of investment be done straightforwardly, telling the true story of Medellín, without ignoring the past, but also showing the strengths of the city. “It was a speech without winners or losers. The objective was not to bring a company to invest and then desist because it wasn’t what the investor expected.”
With dignity, the Agency began its activities. It began to manage the first resources and has gradually been advancing on what Escobar considers the most important task: “the mental and spiritual openness of the people from Antioquia.” He insists that addressing this issue is the essential role of the Agency, but it is also its greatest challenge: to work in this society in order to have more open-mindedness. Nonetheless, he states, we have very positive values, such as entrepreneurship, resilience and the ability to overcome adversity. Antioquia has not traditionally been very open to immigration, nor to world cultures. “I would say it has not been an internationalist society, not even in recent years,” he notes.
Recognizing oneself and promoting diversity
“I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any,” said Mahatma Gandhi, quoted by anthropologist and writer Wade Davis in one of his books. Escobar uses this quote to explain the need to continue working on global thinking, one that leads the city, the businesses and the population to a process of internationalization, without therein sacrificing identity. His assures that by knowing other cultures, one can recognize and understand its own. By way of this, we are allowing the building of a society where immigrants can actively participate, where people can come from other territories to study at local universities, to do business, to work or have internships in companies. “It would be great for companies in Antioquia, those who have made us what we are, to say, ‘In my steering committee, there is one European citizen or a Brazilian […]’ I think part of the future wealth of this society is to embrace and promote diversity.”
Now that he is working in the private sector, knowing the needs of the companies in Antioquia, he believes the task is not only for ACI Medellín or for the Medellín Mayor’s office. He suggests that public and private sectors, social organizations and universities should join forces, so that the results can be more easily obtained. Indeed, he goes further as to suggest that the Agency should also have presence of the universities, the private sector and social organizations. This is nothing but “preserving those features that have made us unique from the late nineteen-hundreds to the mid-twentieth century, those countenances which helped us survive the deepest crisis of the 1980s and 1990s,” he concludes.
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According to the Inter-American Development Bank – IDB, “a smart and sustainable city is an innovative that which uses information and communication technologies (ICT) and other means to improve decision-making, the efficiency of operations, the provision of urban services and its competitiveness.”
“Towards a territorial smartness route: the construction of the cities of the future” is the motto of the III Smart Cities Seminar.
Consistent with this definition, on Friday, February 23, 2018, the III Smart Cities Seminar was held in Medellín. The National Planning Department, the Administrative Planning Department of Medellín, the University of Antioquia, the National University, the Agency of International Cooperation of Japan – JICA and the consortium More Bio Cartif, led this event.
Medellín’s Development Plan Medellín Cuenta Con Vos “takes on the challenge of an Innovative Medellín, for its ability to transform and reinvent itself in the social, cultural and urban spheres.”
The objective of the event was to promote technological development in the urban transformation of the city and the creation of innovative solutions for citizen needs. National and international institutions such as the IDB, the ICEX (Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade), Metro de Medellín, the Ruta N Corporation participated in the event and Curitiba, Brasilia and Guatemala City contributed with their experiences.
In the words of the Divisional General Deputy Director of the National Planning Department -DNP, Alejandra Corchuelo Marmolejo “Medellín has made a strong progress in terms of social equity and wealth redistribution (…) and presents, like all city systems, great challenges such as: how to leverage technology and establish itself as a city system by using information intelligently and technologies to face security, productivity and connectivity challenges with the rest of the country? So, we are sure that Medellín is on a very good road, and we are going to work to become a modern and smart city.”
Since 2015, the largest courier company in the world and leader in transportation and specializing in logistics services, had begun searching for the right place to open their next Global Business Services office. The goal was to centralize their back-office operations for Latin America, Canada and the United States. Before the decision was made, they had evaluated six cities in five countries. San José, Costa Rica; Guadalajara, Mexico; Bogotá, Colombia and a few cities in Chile and Brazil were some of those on their radar. However, the legal and financial stability that this country offers, along with the transport infrastructure of this particular city, human talent, transformation process and scope on innovation, were decisive in their decision to opt for Medellín.
Innovation, infrastructure, talent and stability were some of the reasons that attracted UPS, the multinational corporation settled in Medellín, since the beginning of 2017.
The multinational corporation, which this year turned one-hundred-ten years old, needed a strategic location in the region, where time zones and language would not be a problem. They were searching for a place they could recruit skilled workforce and, in Medellín, they found not only what they expected, but a little bit more, as well.
“We reviewed what the city was offering in education, languages, transportation infrastructure, security, financial stability, and human talent and we found everything we needed,” said Douglas Pierce, Medellín GBS Director.
Initially, they knocked on the doors of ProColombia and they, in turn, connected UPS with the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area, ACI Medellín. The Agency was responsible for showing UPS the reasons why they should think about Antioquia’s capital.
The Agency explained to them all about the business fabric of the city. They were told Medellín is home to six of the ten companies with the highest market value in the Colombian Stock Exchange, which houses the headquarters of the so-called “Multilatinas.” Medellín is among the five cities in the country with the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity. They were informed about the benefits of the strategic location of the city, high economic performance in recent years, competitiveness in terms of operating costs, the commitment for innovation, quality of universities, human talent, but above all, the process of social transformation the city has undertaken during the past decade.
“When we saw their (ACI) presentation, our eyes were opened and we said, ‘We need to see Medellín,’” says Douglas Pierce. He adds, they have also found a city full of opportunities, a place to grow. They detected the market is not saturated by companies dedicated to back office operations, their main core business division operating in the city today. This operation supports its transportation services, logistics, healthcare and storage in Latin America. They thought it was a fundamental element which played to their advantage.
There are 100 employees in Medellín, we expect to increase that figure to 400 very soon.
Landing did not occur immediately. It was during 2016, when they made the final decision, but only in March this year, did UPS officially open its shared service center for the region on the eighth floor of Ruta N. There, a hundred people are in charge of accounting, accounts payable and receivables, billing, among other support functions of the corporation’s division. At the beginning, there were only a handful of employees but in five months, it has multiplied and reached one hundred people. “In this office we have English, Spanish and Portuguese languages,” says Pierce, adding that the result has been so successful that they began nightshift operations in November, working double shifts, one between 7:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. and another between 8:00 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. “This is very common for UPS in the United States, not in Colombia, but we will try,” he explains and underscores the possibilities of job creation and what it means in a city where the unemployment rate is close to 9,5%.
Creating bridges
During the UPS settlement process in Medellín, ACI Medellín has supported them. Its function is creating bridges, opening doors and supporting investors who come from other countries, so that they can adapt to the city.
In the case of UPS, the Agency created the connection with Ruta N, the place where the company headquarters operate. This building is located in the heart of the city’s Northern Innovation District, a zone that is one of the biggest city pledges. At the moment, what is clear is that more and more companies, the size of UPS, are turning their eyes toward the city, with real interest on exploiting its competitive advantages and ecosystem of innovation, which the city has launched, seeking to become one of the most dynamic in Latin America.
The challenge for the city, as Douglas Pierce explains, is to continue showing the new face of Medellín. “Changing the perception that the world still has” and making other investors open their eyes, too, as they did. New investors can find a space to grow in Medellín, as well as a way to contribute to the city’s development.
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Thanks to the active economic dynamics of Medellín and to the good relations of both countries, the Embassy of Japan in Colombia recently opened the Colombian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry offices in the city. This will strengthen the commercial exchange between both countries and encourage foreign investment in the city.
Thanks to ACI Medellín’s critical support, the Colombian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry will open a new office in the city to promote commercial and cultural relations.
The objective of this new binational office is to offer services focused on strategic lines such as foreign trade consultancies and promotion in education and culture. The members of this Chamber are mainly Japanese companies with commercial interests in Colombia and, likewise, Colombian businessmen with interests in this Asian country. Additionally, this event represents a terrific opportunity to ACI Medellín in the materialization of important investment projects and explore cooperation opportunities for the city and the region.
“I would like to make a special mention to ACI Medellín, for being a key player in our arrival in the city. The characteristics of Medellín and the drive of its people motivated us to make this decision. We hope to be the arm of the Japanese companies in the territory, ” said Oscar Romero Executive Director of the Colombian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Watch here the full testimony of Oscar Romero Executive Director of the Colombian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Initially, the Colombian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be in Ruta N’s facilities and they expect to start operations on March this year, to later move to its own building.
See here the testimony of Keiichiro Morishita ambassador of Japan to Colombia.
Bangkok, Thailand ― From February 21 to 23, the Global SDG 7 Conference: a global preparatory meeting in support of the review of SDG 7 will be held at the 2018 UN High-level Political Forum.
After its progress in the Public Transport of Medellín (TPM) project granted Medellín a place between the finalist in theEnergy Grantcall(2016), the city is invited to present its initiatives in sustainable energy in Bangkok, Thailand.
The event will be attended by first level leaders and there will be a panel for the finalists of the Energy Grant (2016) to present their initiatives in sustainable energy. “Medellín is the only city in Colombia that will be in this space. All other finalists are NGOs and companies dedicated to energy innovations,” said Carolina Franco, Knowledge Management Senior Professional at ACI Medellín.
In addition to the presentation at the Global Meeting, the mission includes the participation in two parallel events: Contribution of the work of the Energy Grant finalists to the implementation of the SDG7 and other SDGsand an exhibition called Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies, these spaces will allow attendees to learn about Medellín’s experiences in complying with the SDG 2030 Agenda.
ACI Medellín will present the city’s initiatives which contribute to the implementation of the SDG 7 “Energy for all” such as: service coverage, electric mobility, thermal district and prepaid energy. The Agency also will talk about the challenges the city faces in this matter: affordability and the use of non-renewable energy mainly in transport.
Friendship is feeling comfortable, talking and sharing with others. In Medellin and Barcelona’s case, this friendship was born with a particular interest: to offer and provide to each other. It grew over time, up to the point that even new friendships in pursuit of decentralized cooperation works have been born from it.
It has been more than 17 years in which Medellín has learned from Barcelona through the exchange of models of government management and the strengthening of local governance: libraries, markets, urban habitat, education, social rights, entrepreneurship, are some of the several experiences that Global City has shared with the capital of Antioquia
There is more than one way in which Cooperation is materialized. Barcelona has seen in Medellín the abilities of an applied student, that who learned the lesson and is ready to share his experiences with the world. For this reason, Barcelona has called on Medellín to cooperate with the development of other cities, such was the case of the triangular cooperation developed with Havana (Cuba) in 2014, when they joined forces to teach their experience on urban planning and international cooperation.
Medellin and Barcelona still have a long way to go together, because friendships grown over the years, even if they are kilometers away. At the end, strong and lasting friendships are those that transcend borders despite the difficulties.
To strengthen the diplomatic ties and cooperation processes between Colombia and Japan, the Japanese Government will develop the Transport and Urban Development Seminar 2018 in Medellín at the Marriott Medellín Hotel on February 15.
The event is developed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism (MLIT) of the Japanese Government. As part of the celebration of the 110th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relationship between Japan and Colombia, the Japanese Government seeks to strengthen its efforts in cooperation and will make a follow up to the Japanese companies settled in the country.
The initiative aims to promote the development conditions of Medellín and other cities with similar growth potential, through the transfer of knowledge related to the design of integrated solutions for transport and sustainable urban development.
This event is also a mechanism to reactivate the Japanese economy in Latin American markets. According to Takuya Kurita, CEO the City Bureau of MLITT, in Japan, “we have many experiences in transportation systems and urban development and we believe that they can be applied to urban transport projects in Colombia, for a solid implementation and to support the government national and local governments.”
Medellín was selected to host the seminar due to its great progress in Latin America in the implementation of integral mobility solutions.
The mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez; the president of the National Development Bank, Clemente del Valle; Deputy Minister of Transportation, Andrés Chávez and senior representatives of the Japanese Government will attend the seminar..
About 10 officials of the Swedish Government, leaded by the Vice Minister for Trade and EU Affairs, Oscar Stenström; and the Swedish Ambassador to Colombia, Tommy Strömberg, will visit Medellín next Monday, February 12, 2018.
Swedish Vice Minister for Trade and EU Affairs visits the capital of Antioquia to address the issue
They will promote sustainable solutions for the cities of the future, highlighting the importance of transportation systems. Therefore, among the suggested activities for the work agenda, crossing the city in the Metro System in the morning hours is one of the most relevant.
The Swedish Embassy in Colombia and ACI Medellín will coordinate the work agenda for the delegation during their stay in the city.
